Chapter 45: Shrek Suffers a Setback
Seeing Dragon Chen awaken from absorbing his spirit ring, Ye Lingling was a little excited.
"Brother Chen, you've finally finished absorbing that forty-thousand-year spirit ring."
"Yes, I did it."
Dragon Chen stood up, feeling the surging spirit power within him, his eyes shimmering with more confidence and depth.
He could clearly feel that his body had more strength, his spirit power was more profound, and his overall strength had advanced further.
Mrs. Ye Tianming came over, his eyes filled with relief as he looked at Dragon Chen.
"Long Chen, you've once again accomplished something ordinary people cannot. It's truly amazing."
"Yes. To reach a forty-thousand-year limit with your fifth spirit ring is unbelievable, yet it happened to you."
Ye Lingling asked curiously:
"Brother Chen, is your fifth Spirit Ability also summoning a strange beast through the sound of the magic qin?"
"Yes, it's similar to the previous ones."
"Then what kind of strange beast did you summon this time?"
"It's a bit strange. It's also an ox, but completely different from that one-horned giant rhinoceros."
Ye Lingling became even more puzzled and pressed on:
"Then what kind of ox is it?"
Dragon Chen smiled slightly:
"It's called a Kui Niu. I'll show you."
After Dragon Chen finished speaking, he once again released his Dark Night Magic Qin Spirit.
As the fifth spirit ring glowed and the strings were plucked, a massive phantom of a Kui Niu appeared out of thin air.
Unlike the previous phantoms, the Kui Niu phantom was entirely cyan, shimmering with light like the sun and moon.
In an instant, the entire space was illuminated by that light.
Its appearance was very strange; its body and head looked like an ox, but it had no horns and only one leg.
The sound it emitted from its mouth was like thunder, deafening.
Dragon Chen looked at the shocking Kui Niu phantom before him and slowly explained:
"This Kui Niu, also known as the Thunder Beast, not only possesses the ability to release lightning but can also control storms."
After hearing Dragon Chen's words, Ye Tianming, Ye Susu, and Ye Lingling looked at each other, their eyes full of shock.
Ye Tianming exclaimed:
"Controlling lightning and storms! This ability is too astonishing. When encountering a fire-attribute Spirit Master, controlling storms will give you an advantage. Long Chen, your strength has reached a new level."
After consuming the Fiery Apricot Velvet, Dragon Chen already possessed fire immunity.
The abilities brought by the Kui Niu made him even more at ease when facing fire-attribute Spirit Masters.
Ye Lingling then asked:
"Brother Chen, how many levels did your spirit power increase?"
"It increased by two levels; I'm now Level 52."
"Level 52! Brother Chen, at your spirit power increase rate, you'll soon catch up to Teacher Qin Ming."
Dragon Chen smiled and nodded, not saying much.
He knew that by the time they returned to Royal Academy, Qin Ming might no longer be their team leader.
With Dugu Bo's intervention, the Shrek teachers and students would not be able to enter Royal Academy, and Qin Ming would also leave because of this.
The four of them re-equipped themselves and ventured deeper into the forest center.
After Ye Susu obtained her seventh spirit ring, her spirit power reached Level 72, officially promoting her to a Spirit Saint, gaining the ability to release her Spirit Avatar.
After Ye Tianming obtained his eighth spirit ring, his spirit power reached Level 82, becoming a Combat Soul Douluo, further enhancing his combat power.
Afterward, the group returned to their home in Heaven Dou City.
~~~~~
A few days later, Dragon Chen and Ye Lingling returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy together.
Not long after entering the academy, they ran into Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan smiled and came forward to greet them.
"Dragon Chen, Lingling, why did it take you so long to come back?"
"Lingling's Spirit evolved, breaking through Level 40, so we went to hunt Spirit Beasts together."
"What?! Lingling broke through Level 40?! When we last parted, she was only Level 35."
Dugu Yan frowned, finding it hard to believe.
"Dragon Chen, did you give Lingling any special herbs? Like the one you gave me?"
"Yanzi, this is Lingling's special opportunity, so it's a secret for now."
Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow and said in a teasing tone:
"Good! Good! Good! You're always so mysterious. If you don't want me to know something, it's useless for me to ask."
Ye Lingling asked:
"Sister Yan, you've already obtained your fourth spirit ring, right? What level is your spirit power now?"
Dugu Yan smiled proudly.
"As Dragon Chen said, my spirit power has increased a lot. I'm now Level 44."
"Level 44, Sister Yan, you're amazing."
"This is all thanks to your Brother Chen. The spirit power increase is secondary; more importantly, when I cultivate now, I won't suffer from the backlash of the toxins, and I don't experience that pain anymore."
"That's truly wonderful. No longer suffering from the toxins, your spirit power increase rate will be even faster in the future."
Dragon Chen asked:
"You've increased your spirit power so much, have we all found out?"
"Of course. Don't worry, Grandpa has already instructed me. I told them that you found an herb for me that removed the accumulated toxins in my body, releasing the spirit power I used to suppress the toxins, which is why my spirit power increased so much."
Dragon Chen smiled.
"Your fabricated reason is quite plausible."
"Who cares, they can believe it or not, haha~"
Dugu Yan suddenly remembered something, and her expression changed.
"Oh, right, I have big news to tell you. Teacher Qin Ming will no longer be our team leader."
Ye Lingling was startled.
"What happened? What's going on?"
Dugu Yan explained:
"A few days ago, the Shrek Seven Devils came to our academy, along with their teachers, probably introduced by Teacher Qin Ming.
As far as I know, they wanted to participate in next year's Advanced Academy Soul Master Competition under the name of the Royal Academy Vice-Captain.
However, they had bad luck and had a conflict with the Fourth Prince Xue Beng and his companions at the academy gate.
The Fourth Prince found Prince Xue Xing and rejected them.
My grandpa also got involved in this matter."
Ye Lingling finally understood.
"Teacher Qin Ming resigned because of this, right?"
Dugu Yan nodded, sighing:
"We've been with Teacher Qin Ming for several years, and I never expected that he would abandon us because of this and leave with those people from Shrek."
Dragon Chen had long anticipated this would happen and asked:
"Then who is our new team leader?"
"It seems to be Teacher Liu Zhicheng."
"Teacher Liu Zhicheng?"
Dragon Chen and Ye Lingling looked at each other.
Liu Zhicheng was a good friend of Ye Tianming, and Ye Lingling had been cared for by him when she first entered the academy.
He had recently broken through Level 70, becoming a Combat Spirit Saint.
Dugu Yan continued:
"Teacher Liu is also very good; he's a Combat Spirit Saint. There's still almost a year until the Soul Master Competition, so we'll be learning from him from now on."
For Dragon Chen, who the team leader was didn't matter.
He only needed to stay by Ye Lingling's side and ensure her safety.
Dragon Chen knew that Tang San and the others would meet Liu Erlong in Heaven Dou City, and Blue Tyrant Academy would be renamed Shrek Academy.
They would still be able to participate in next year's Soul Master Competition.